A mod for Grand Theft Auto 4 has been circulating the web for the past week or so that makes some very stunning additions to the almost three-year-old game. Implementing some new lighting and graphical improvements, this GTA4 mod delivers a video game image that is as close to photorealistic as has been seen in the franchise to date.
Dubbed the icEnhancer, this mod makes the cars look like they were ripped from the tracks of Gran Turismo and the buildings feel like perfect renderings of their real world counterparts. And to make the game look even more impressive, that same shader and texture improvements that were added to the vehicles and buildings make main characters like Niko Bellic look much better — not as impressive as the landscapes but still improved.
If you are in possession of a PC copy of Grand Theft Auto 4 and want to give the icEnhancer mod a go yourself, you can pick it up here. Or if you want to keep up on any of the updates being made to the mod, head on over to the official Facebook page for screenshots and quick looks at how awesome the mod makes the game look. But, for a brief tease check out the mod in action below:
There are obviously times when the mod, but more realistically the game, shows its imperfections, but from a distance it’s one of those eye-rubbing moments. Sure there are developers that attempt to give their games this same type of photorealistic quality (Battlefield 3 for example), but for a fan-created mod this is one of the best.
Obviously the best case scenario for these modders is Rockstar catches wind of their work and they are asked to help out on Grand Theft Auto 5 in some capacity. Not saying that Rockstar isn’t fully capable of delivering great games, they are just known moreso for presenting gamers with painstakingly recreated cityscapes rather than graphically impressive facades and vehicles. At the very least hopefully the folks at Rockstar are taking note of the work these modders are putting out and trying to implement it in the next iteration of the Grand Theft Auto series.
Have you had a chance to check out any of the Grand Theft Auto mods released since 2008? Care to share any of the awesome screenshots from your playthrough with the mod on?
Source: GTA 4 Mods
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i just saw gameplay of saints row 3 and it craps all over GTA4>, rockstar will have to seriously step their game up (literally) if they want to get ahead of SR3.
this mod is ok nothing overly great, if it could be applied to BoGT then i might be interested but as it is, i don’t see there any point in getting the game _ mod just to be able to drive pretty looking cars.
btw you guys are behind on the news, this mod has been out for a few weeks (or so that’s how long i’ve known about it).
Not behind on thew news. Just trying to get to each piece one at a time.
Dude Grand Theft Auto 4 came out in 2007, Saints Row 3 is coming out in ac couple of months. That means it took 4 years or any game to catch up to bar GTA lV set for graphically capable Open World Games! 4 YEARS! Thats a century in the video game industry. Trust me all Rockstar has to do is put the same effort as before and they’ll dominate once again. Not saying Saints Row 3 doesn’t look awesome, pre-ordered it. But GTA V OR WHATEVER IT WILL BE called will change the industry once again, whatever they do.
umm the ENBseries has been out way back in Sand Andreas time, even in VICE CITY! This is just a enb series mod with a codename. I hate how people are JUST realizing that these mods are around..
i haven’t really payed any attention to mods of pc games (besides car swaps in vice city and things like superman for san andreas). i suppose the reason people are making a big deal is b/c of the high def textures etc in this particular mod.
the GTA IV High Def Textures mod has been around for months. Oh and you shouldn’t be so ignorant of these mods just cause ur a huge fan of Saints Row series. I never played the Saints Row series and then I saw the SR3 trailer and gameplay and got really hooked with it, but that doesn’t mean I can go and start putting down the other franchises, specially the hard working modders. Do you have any idea how much work went into all this? For me I love the GTA series for most of the realistic elements and also for all the crazy mods around for it that will make the game ultra fun…ofcourse if you are a console gamer then you’re most likely very ignorant of all these mods for the PC games.
i wasn’t hating on gta, i saw comparing gta 4 to saints row 3 (b/c they are the most resent ones in the franchise). saint row looks to be a more fun and less ‘gangster’ game. and lets face it, gta has never been one to blow people away, #4 is just one bi box – you cant interact with alot, you cant do alot (besides shoot people and drive) and the missions are boring, repetitive and tedious.
the last time i really had fun in a gta game was back in san andreas, which doesn’t make sense b/c shouldn’t sequels in a series be going forward not back ?
Nice mod, have to download it. Saints Row is lame by the way, kind of like the annoying wannabe kid brother you never wanted.
yeah or could be the younger brother that everyone likes then gta be like the thirty year old brother still living in his mums basement
saints row is a wannabe GTA, thats WANNABE, not to be confused with better then, equal on ANY level, or in the same ball park…
I played saints row, and I found it to be retarded like the kid brother that everyone likes so well…
yeah or like the more fun and popular little brother since even with mods couldnt play gta for more than two or three missions without falling asleep
face it, saints row is a WANNABE GTA… why would they make that game in the first place? they made it with gangsters for the rap fans to buy it, it SOLD OUT before the first one was even released…
I dont remember GTA selling out, just selling more copies then saints row…
When I said this…
“face it, saints row is a WANNABE GTA… why would they made that game in the first place? they made it with gangsters for the rap fans to buy it, it SOLD OUT before the first one was even released…
I dont remember GTA selling out, just selling more copies then saints row…”
I expected a response, but no, nothing… Did I just find a sore spot when I pointed out that GTA sold more copies and thats why you didn’t respond?
Or where you too busy polishing your gold chain and writing a rap song about how much lil wayne sounds like a 5 year old with a lisp and down syndrome that wrote his “songs” on the back of the kids menu at Denny’s? If so, also add that 50 cent needs to open his mouth when he talks… It sounds like he’s doing autoerotic asphyxiation with a belt doorknob and that dead homo from NWA, you know the one that was so gay he died from AIDS? Easy E…
Go to school, anyone can push a button on a synthinsizer and make a “beat”, but real artists dont use that… they use skills that took them a life time to perfect…
real musicians dont cheat with auto tune…
Saints row sucked,its a WANNABE GTA… maybe their next title should be “Saints Row: da wanna B GTA but doesnt live up to the lint in Niko’s butt crack”
Thats a fitting title dont you think?
i highly doubt that gta 5 will look like that since most game companies dont actually work hard on games so i wont hold my breathe
The view through the rocket launcher seemed eerily real!
This treatment to the game reminds me of the Cinematic mod 10 that was done to Half Life 2 (including both episodes) which game it a more photo-realistic feel. I really like how this mod fixes the store-fronts so that they don’t look so “flat” like in the original game.
i love gta games.